Sermon and Worship Resources

Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on

Showing 1476 to 1500 of 4681 results

1476. The Church With Nothing

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Thomas Long

... They were to be a community of profound love with the gates wide open and the welcome mat always out, but here we find them barricaded in a house with the doors bolted shut. They were to be the kind of people who stride boldly into the world to bear fruit in Jesus' name, a people full of the Holy Spirit performing even greater works than Jesus himself (John 14:12), but here we find them cowering in fear, hoping nobody will find out where they are before they get their alibis straight. In short, we see here ...

1477. Since He's In Charge, We're In Luck

Psalm 33:4-5, 8-9, 13-22

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

... Let us admit our sins before God. Prayer of Confession (Unison)Eternal God, our judge and redeemer, we confess that we have tried to hide from you, for we have done wrong. We have lived for ourselves and turned from our neighbors. We have refused to bear the troubles of others. We have ignored the pain of the world, and passed by the hungry, the poor, and the oppressed. O God, in your great mercy forgive our sin and free us from selfishness, that we may choose your will and obey your commandments; through ...

1478. When God Is The Problem

Psalm 13:1-6

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

... a bruised soul we plaintively argue, "I'm keeping MY part of the bargain. Why isn't God keeping his?" Might you not say along with the psalmist, "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?" (vv. 1-2). The real problem that some of us have to live with is not just that life has turned sour, but that life has turned sour ...

1479. Confidence To Spare

Psalm 27:1-6, 13-14

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

... present hardship ... things are not as they seem ... so I will live boldly with my Lord." BULLETIN MATERIAL Notes of the Psalms of New Orientation There is a third type of psalm to which we now turn. They are the psalms of new orientation. These psalms bear witness to the surprising gift of new life just when none had been expected. The new orientation is not a return to the old stable orientation, for there is no such going back. Rather, the speaker and the community of faith are often surprised by grace ...

1480. Behold The Man Who Trained Disciples

Luke 10:1-20

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... to see his parents, and learned they were not there. He then asked for a big brother or sister. The boy said, "They are not here, and I would not be here neither, but I've got the old tomcat in the freezer trying to turn him into a polar bear!" That was a crucial time in the old cat's life. It is a crucial time in our world. This makes what we do in the church, with the church, for the church, as the church of utmost importance. We must not lose our sense of urgency. David H. C ...

1481. The Bread Of Life

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Marc Kolden

... is promised to us in the eucharist offend us? Threaten us? Wait until you hear the whole story of the crucified one. He will tell us that he is like a grain of wheat which unless it falls into the ground and dies remains a single grain and does not bear fruit (John 12:24). And he adds: Those who love their life lose it; and, whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Christ, the bread of life, gives us a kind of life unlike the "good life" of our culture. When ...

1482. Yes, But How?

Sermon

Lee Griess

... of life we ought to live, and most of us have the best of intentions to do so, but how? We are afraid because we know where the road paved with only good intentions leads! This morning we hear Jesus' parable of the fig tree, telling us to repent and bear good fruit. We know what the Christian life requires of us and yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we also know how far short we fall. So the question that confronts us this morning is: "Yes, but how?" It's a dilemma that has confronted God's people ...

1483. The Peace That Jesus Gives

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Lee Griess

... America. There at the very tip of the continent, in its icy waters he encountered some of the worst weather anywhere on earth. Raging seas, towering ice floes, and a mutinous crew plagued his efforts. When he finally made his way through those straits (which today bear his name -- the Straits of Magellan), he entered into a great body of water that lay beyond, and as he and his men lifted their faces to heaven and gave thanks to God, he named the new ocean "The Peaceful One -- the Pacific Ocean." In his ...

1484. Welcoming Christ

Matthew 10:40-42

Sermon

Marc Kolden

... directly to us. The apostolic witness, in other words, comes to us through present day "apostles" and witnesses. This brings it awfully close to home, however. This would seem to suggest that as we welcome Christian workers today, as we welcome other Christians bearing witness to their faith, we receive Christ. Yes! And also, those who welcome us, who receive us, receive Christ. That's quite a claim! But it shouldn't surprise us, if we think about it. The Christian faith spread for centuries without a ...

1485. The Promising Invitation

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Marc Kolden

... upon you, and learn from me .... My yoke is easy [gentle, kind]. Learn from me." He does not mean that Christianity is a lark. He still uses the word "yoke," after all, but we might think of it as a new way of carrying life, a new way of bearing responsibilities. As we learn from him, as we take his words seriously, which is what taking his yoke upon us means, we will find a new kind of peace and balance that will not be burdensome but freeing and refreshing. (And if we are not finding that peace in our ...

1486. The One Thing That Would Make The Biggest Difference

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... -- which really means we are afraid that we won't have their approval. The thing we need to remember is that getting someone's approval is not the point of a healthy relationship. A healthy relationship means sharing life, sharing love. It often means bearing one another's burdens -- but notice that means we let others help us just as we help them. Suppose someone doesn't want a relationship on those terms. Suppose, when we are clear about what our boundaries are, that person pulls away from us, because ...

1487. Demon-Possessed Child

Matthew 15:1-20, Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... and the Jewish people. I was willing to chase the dog slur. When I told Jesus that yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' tables, I spoke within my belief. I affirmed that belief by addressing Jesus as Lord. I would willingly bear the lowly title "dog" to taste those crumbs. Asker: Then part of the greater truth of this story is Jesus' recognition that you are a Canaanite. He also saw beyond that to appreciate your humanity. Woman: Yes, and within that he returned to his own mission ...

1488. Wanting To Be Seen

Matthew 6:5-6

Sermon

David Belgum

... many wealthy people to withhold their complaints about helping out with higher taxes for the same end. We need positive role models of any age to raise our sights. Maybe those two statements of Jesus need not be contradictory. Remember we need to bear in mind the motive. Jesus said if others see your genuine good works they may be led to glorify God, who, after all, blessed you with such an opportunity. Case #1: George Washington Richard Norton Smith recently published a thorough and sensitive biography ...

1489. Adam And Jesus See Temptation

Genesis 3:1-24, Genesis 2:4-25, Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

David Belgum

... the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives), it could be a fall of 450 feet. Take your choice. What if Jesus had made that spectacular jump and landed safely as the Tempter quoted? "He will give his angels charge of you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone" (Matthew 4:6b-c RSV). Jesus would have been known as Number One in track and field and would surely have represented Judea at the Olympics in Greece. Bumper stickers would abound: "Jump Like Jesus," "No One ...

1490. Let It Go!

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

Elaine M. Ward

... I can almost reach it," Indiana replied, as his father gently reminded him, "Indiana, let it go." There is new life in letting go. Unaware of the harm of holding on to bad relationships, life-denying perspectives, and self-defeating projections, we are like the bear that wandered into camp, seized the boiling pot, and, screaming with pain, was unwilling to let it go. Sometimes we pray for God's power in our lives to ease or remove the suffering, while still clutching the habits and actions that cause them ...

1491. All-Surrounding Grace

John 3:14-21

Sermon

Elaine M. Ward

As swimmers dare to lie face to sky and water bears them, as hawks rest upon air and air sustains them, so would I learn to attain freefall, and float into Creator Spirit's deep embrace, knowing no effort earns that all surrounding grace. (Denise Levertov, Oblique Prayer) God so loved the world ... that love, that unconditional love, is the foundation ...

1492. "Unless A Grain Of Wheat ..."

John 12:20-33

Sermon

Elaine M. Ward

... , "We wish to see Jesus," and Jesus answered, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." And then he told them, "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." Living some three generations after the death and resurrection of Jesus, John wrote his "good news" to people who were risking their lives for Christ. To be a Christian meant facing one's immediate death, be it lion or cross. But Jesus had been there. Strength ...

1493. Responding In Anger

Job 7:11-21 · Matthew 21:12-13

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... of my anger and change what is upsetting me. I am like Job. I often cry out to God from the depths of my agony. At such times I feel God's presence very keenly, and I know that I have come in contact with One who is able to bear the burden of my anger and distress. I know that Jesus, the crucified one, knows and understands this agony and will sustain me.

1494. Responsibility And Motivation

Ruth 1:1-22

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... not without one more twist. There is, it turns out, another kinsman who is more directly related to Naomi and Ruth than Boaz. He was interested in acquiring the dead man's inheritance, but not the responsibility of caring for his wife and children that she might bear. So he passed up his obligation; he made the negative choice not to be responsible. Of all the characters who play a role of any significance in the book of Ruth, this kinsman, actually a closer relative than Boaz, is the only one who is not ...

1495. More Than Sex

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... :17) it is not simply bestowing a blessing upon the natural impulses we feel toward a few select individuals. It is rather to be so grounded in our love for God, and to be so secure in the love and relationship of friends in community, that we can "go and bear fruit, fruit that will last" (John 15:16). In the last analysis, it is this deep love for God and for others -- with all love's passion and devotion -- that makes it possible for us to venture out in love and service to all, as Jesus commanded.

1496. Come As You Are

John 21:1-14

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... come to bring peace Not to condemn Each time you fail To live by my promise Why do you think I'd love you the less? Come as you are That's how I love you Come as you are Trust me again Nothing can change The Love that I bear you All will be well Just come as you are. (from Come as You Are by Paul Gurr, Spectrum Publications, P/L, P.O. Box 75, Richmond Victoria, Australia 3121. Used by permission. Tapes available through "The Healing Touch Wellness Center," 251 Pawtucket Avenue, Warwick, R.I. 02228) What a ...

1497. Sunday Dinner

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... received him into ourselves. Now we live together in him. In any good church, like this one, the members and friends care for each other, like family. (How does that other old hymn go? "We share each other's woes, each other's burdens bear, and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.") We educate our children and grandchildren together. Together we pay the monthly bills that provide for the upkeep of our family homestead, this historic church. As a family, we now share the same spiritual ancestors ...

1498. Prayers for the Sundays After Easter

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

... path where your word is a lamp to our feet. O Lord, may our faith in you increase. Many times darkness creeps in because the events of our lives are so overpowering and imprisoning. The weight and burden of our existence becomes nearly too much to bear. We cannot understand why death visits when it does, why hardship continually comes to the same life, why your children mock and destroy all that is good, why we are torn inwardly by hatreds, fears, and anxieties. At last the question, "Why?" keeps ringing in ...

1499. Wedding: With Communion

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

... as God is brought into this marriage today, creating a loving union. Who brings this woman to this moment of love? Father: Her family brings her to this love friendship that is set on fire for a lifetime. Pastor: A husband and wife should bear each other's joys, sorrows, burdens, and hope. As you enter marriage, you are cultivating a new life together. The elements of consideration, love, and tender-heartedness should be planted for a lifetime. As Randolph Ray wrote, "I would like to have engraved inside ...

1500. Wedding: Building A Marriage (for a couple fixing up a house)

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Derl G. Keefer

... Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 13 (NRSV): Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends... When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now ...

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